A Shepherdess

Paulus Moreelse (1571-1638), oil on canvas, 1630

This shepherdess comes straight out of Arcadia, a fairytale realm celebrated in 17th-century Dutch poems, inhabited by beautiful shepherds and shepherdesses. These verses glorified simple country life. Artists, including Paulus Moreelse, drew inspiration from them. He painted several ‘Arcadian’ shepherds and shepherdesses, often semi-nude and adorned with flowers in their hair, like this rose-crowned shepherdess.

Artwork typepainting
Object numberSK-A-276
Dimensionsheight 81.5 cm x width 64.5 cm

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Girl at the Mirror

Paulus Moreelse (signed by artist), 1632

Portrait of a Girl, Known as ‘The Little Princess’

Paulus Moreelse, c. 1623

Self-Portrait

Paulus Moreelse, c. 1623

Portrait of a Man, Probably from the Pauw Family

Paulus Moreelse (signed by artist), 1625

Portrait of Maria van Utrecht (c. 1552/53-1629)

Paulus Moreelse (signed by artist), 1615

Portrait of Anthonis van Utenhove (?-1625), Lord of Rijnesteyn

workshop of Paulus Moreelse, 1619

Identification

Former title
A shepherdess, known as the beautiful shepherdess
Object type
Object number
SK-A-276
Inscriptions / marks
signature and date, top right, with ligated monogram: ‘PM / 1630’
Part of catalogue

Creation

Creation
painter: Paulus Moreelse (signed by artist)
Dating
1630
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Material and technique

Material
Dimensions
height 81.5 cm x width 64.5 cm

This work is about

Subject

Acquisition and rights

Acquisition
purchase 1817
Copyright
Public domain
Provenance
...; collection Bernardus Ocke (c. 1755-1816), Leiden, 1816;{Van Eynden/Van der Willigen 1816, I, p. 372.} his sale, Leiden (W. van Veen et al.), 21 April 1817, no. 82 (`Le portrait d´une jeune beauté; habillé en bergère; et le tient d´une main la houlette, et porte l´autre à la bouche; sa tête est couronnée de fleurs [...].´), fl. 2,150, to Van der Willigen, for the museum{RANH, ARM, IS, inv. 8, no. 15 (19 April 1817, no. 36); RANH, ARM, Kop, inv. 36, pp. 50-51 (23 April 1817); RANH, ARM, IS, inv. 8, no. 17 (6 May 1817, no. 869); RANH, ARM, Kop, inv. 36, p. 51 (9 May 1817); RANH, ARM, IS, inv. 8, no. 19 (20 May 1817, no. 962).}